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F-body info


boostedgtp

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Im thinking about getting a Fbody again. My GTP has to many miles on it to screw with anymore, but its too nice of a car to get rid of. I was thinking about a 99 or 00 SS, but i dont know what years are the best and what years were shitty. I have been all over ls2.com and ls1tech.com but havent found any info on this. Any help.

 

Carl

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2001-02 have a different intake on them and if i'm not mistakin, i think the 01-02 produce more power. not 100% sure on that but i'm think in i read that in a super chevy mag somewhere back in the day of having an 01 z-28. anyone know if this is true?
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Originally posted by yellowsnake:

2001-02 have a different intake on them and if i'm not mistakin, i think the 01-02 produce more power. not 100% sure on that but i'm think in i read that in a super chevy mag somewhere back in the day of having an 01 z-28. anyone know if this is true?

You are correct. They have the newer LS6 intake on them. There's also a chance that a 01-02 might have an LS6 block as well. There a few minor differences that I can't remember, since I've been out of the F-body loop for awhile.
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Guest aftermidnight
i believe in 01 they changed the intake, in early 02 they started the mix of ls1's and ls6's. the late and last ones off the line had the ls6's. i'm not 100% sure and if i'm wrong, someone correct me and i'm sorry in advance.
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There is alot of subtle differences between each car. The SS's and WS6's were actually built by SLP. There has been some shake-up in the SCCA here recently because they are thinking about moveing them to F-Stock and all the T/A and Z-28 guys are pissed because it fucks them (due to rim size) and the Mustang guys are pissed because they think the Saleens should get the same treatment (not because they want to race a Saleen but it would help as far as update/backdate for ESP). The main issue is the subtle variations within the SS's and WS6's. Also note that for a short time at least the SS came with a single exhaust in 98. Look for a Firehawk too.
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Originally posted by martindc1:

There is alot of subtle differences between each car. The SS's and WS6's were actually built by SLP. There has been some shake-up in the SCCA here recently because they are thinking about moveing them to F-Stock and all the T/A and Z-28 guys are pissed because it fucks them (due to rim size) and the Mustang guys are pissed because they think the Saleens should get the same treatment (not because they want to race a Saleen but it would help as far as update/backdate for ESP). The main issue is the subtle variations within the SS's and WS6's. Also note that for a short time at least the SS came with a single exhaust in 98. Look for a Firehawk too.

the SS came with the single tip in '97... as far as single muffler, ALL F-bodies came with 1 muffler.

 

I believe '01 was the year that they came with the LS6 intake...

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Sheesh.

 

'01-02 had the LS6 intake. Late '01s and all '02s had a slight chance of coming with the LS6 block. The only advantage to this was slightly bigger oil passages. It doesn't make a difference that matters. The casting number for the block is on the deck right below the backside of the driver's side head. You can also tell from the finish of the block since they were produced in different places.

 

The SS and Firehawk were the creation of SLP. The WS6 were the creation of ASC.

 

Overall, the cars are all the same with minor year differences. About the biggest difference are the '98s like mine, where the PCM and wiring harness differs so much from the '99+, it's about impossible to swap them back and forth. '98s also are the only year that the coolant temp gauge actually works and tells the correct temp instead of a "ballpark figure", and they came with bigger (28#) injectors vice the 26# ones.

 

The list goes on. Lemme know if you need more details or info smile.gif

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ok cool, thanks for the help. I did find a post on ls2.com about what changed from year to year on the camaros. I think im going to start looking for a 99 m6 hugger orange ss so if you guys know where one is please let me know. Im not stuck on the orange, i could go for a silver or black one but orange is my first choice. Thanks for the help.

 

Carl

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Originally posted by Aggressor:

Sheesh.

 

'01-02 had the LS6 intake. Late '01s and all '02s had a slight chance of coming with the LS6 block. The only advantage to this was slightly bigger oil passages. It doesn't make a difference that matters. The casting number for the block is on the deck right below the backside of the driver's side head. You can also tell from the finish of the block since they were produced in different places.

 

The SS and Firehawk were the creation of SLP. The WS6 were the creation of ASC.

 

Overall, the cars are all the same with minor year differences. About the biggest difference are the '98s like mine, where the PCM and wiring harness differs so much from the '99+, it's about impossible to swap them back and forth. '98s also are the only year that the coolant temp gauge actually works and tells the correct temp instead of a "ballpark figure", and they came with bigger (28#) injectors vice the 26# ones.

 

The list goes on. Lemme know if you need more details or info smile.gif

quoted for accuracy.
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ya anthony hit it right, just if you plan on modding it dont get a 98, they have the most differences compared to other models, with different heads and PCK, there arnt as many options for the PCM retuning as with 99+

you'd be kicking yourself if you got a 98 then tried to get past the 98 limitations.

 

01-02 produced the most power, aslo didnt have egr, other then that you can upgrade a 99+ to perform the same as a 01-02 (think they have differnt cams as well)

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Originally posted by boostedgtp:

Im thinking about getting a Fbody again. My GTP has to many miles on it to screw with anymore, but its too nice of a car to get rid of. I was thinking about a 99 or 00 SS, but i dont know what years are the best and what years were shitty. I have been all over ls2.com and ls1tech.com but havent found any info on this. Any help.

 

Carl

If you get one, get a '99 and up. '98s were one of the weakest LS1 f-bodies made, at least compared to '99 and up. '01 and '02s have the LS6 manifold which produces a lil more power. There's really no difference in which f-body you choose to get. All in all, they make about the same power whether its a Z28, SS, Formula, Trans Am, WS6 or Firehawk. SS, WS6 and Firehawk have factory ram air hoods, SLP exhaust and better suspension. Whichever you choose, just remember they all have the same LS1 engine.

 

Also, if you get a '98 or '99...they have black mirrors...They changed the color of the mirrors to the color of the car in '00. That's why I got a '00 Z28 cuz my car would look dumb with black mirrors with it being silver.

 

[ 08. July 2005, 01:19 PM: Message edited by: 00 SLVR Z ]

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Originally posted by boostedgtp:

ok cool, thanks for the help. I did find a post on ls2.com about what changed from year to year on the camaros. I think im going to start looking for a 99 m6 hugger orange ss so if you guys know where one is please let me know. Im not stuck on the orange, i could go for a silver or black one but orange is my first choice. Thanks for the help.

 

Carl

Since you want an M6, I searched around on AutoTrader and found a '00 Z28 M6 (white) for $11,550. That's a good price. I also found the car you are looking for. A '99 Z28 M6 (hugger orange) for $12,500.
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Originally posted by 00 SLVR Z:

If you get one, get a '99 and up. '98s were one of the weakest LS1 f-bodies made, at least compared to '99 and up. '01 and '02s have the LS6 manifold which produces a lil more power. There's really no difference in which f-body you choose to get. All in all, they make about the same power whether its a Z28, SS, Formula, Trans Am, WS6 or Firehawk. SS, WS6 and Firehawk have factory ram air hoods, SLP exhaust and better suspension. Whichever you choose, just remember they all have the same LS1 engine.

 

Also, if you get a '98 or '99...they have black mirrors...They changed the color of the mirrors to the color of the car in '00. That's why I got a '00 Z28 cuz my car would look dumb with black mirrors with it being silver.

'98s actually had a slightly bigger cam and bigger injectors. They also don't fall into the lean problem when the MAF screen is removed. However, the later years had a slightly more aggressive timing curve and better flowing exhaust manifolds. Plus, as mentioned, the '01 and later had the LS6 intake manifold which is good for another 20ish to the wheels.

 

However, my car bone stock put down 314rwhp/322rwtq with 34k miles, through a slushbox. So much for the "weak" year ;) However, it's also rumored a few of the early '98s were equipped with the slightly more aggressive Corvette cam due to a shortage of engines for the F-Body production line for their first model year. So they grabbed some from the Y-Body platform and made do. My car is the 7338 F-Body to be produced with the LS1, so it's a possibility.

 

As for the mirror info, that's incorrect. My car has body-colored side mirrors, and in addition, blue-tinted glass. This is supposedly an option so rare there's no RPO for it (the tint, not the paint matching). I've only seen two other F-Bodies with this tint, and it seems to be a '98 only thing.

 

Anything else?

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'98s and '99s Camaros do have the black mirrors. In '00, they changed the color of the mirrors to the color of the car. This was also the case of LT1 Camaro. 93-97 LT1 Camaros had black mirrors as well.

 

On the Firebirds, the color of the mirrors were the color of the car. In your case, you have a firebird so your mirrors are the color of your car. I'm talking about Camaros. '93-99 Camaros, the mirrors were black, regardless of the color of the car.

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Originally posted by Aggressor:

As for the mirror info, that's incorrect. My car has body-colored side mirrors, and in addition, blue-tinted glass. This is supposedly an option so rare there's no RPO for it (the tint, not the paint matching). I've only seen two other F-Bodies with this tint, and it seems to be a '98 only thing.

Wrong. My Formula has the blue tinted mirrors on it. smile.gif
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Yeah, you can always tell when there's a LS1 Camaro with black mirrors, it's either a '98 or a '99. Unless of course the car is black, then it might be hard to tell if it's a '98 or '99.
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